The water molecule is comprised of two hydrogen (H) atoms and one oxygen atom. The oxygen atom has 8 electrons, and each H has 1 electron. The H atoms bond to the oxygen by sharing a pair of electrons in what is called a covalent bond.
Hydrolysis reactions use water to breakdown polymers into monomers and is the opposite of dehydration synthesis, which forms water when synthesizing a polymer from monomers. Hydrolysis reactions break bonds and release energy.
